Doorways
by IFallLikeLeavesAndSnow
Summary: A few days can change your definitions of what the words "possible" and "monster" really mean, a decades worth of reprecussions can turn a potential detective into an aspiring archaeologist.


Doorways

Disclaimer: ← this is a disclaimer, make of that what you will.

-C-

21 year old Coraline Jones glanced in the rear view mirror and was greeted with the fading sight of the pink palace, resplendent in all of its peeling glory. A lone water droplet splashed against the windshield, and within seconds was joined by its billions of needy siblings. Just like that, the abnormally good weather died and unleashed a pouring rain, cascading from the ever gray sky, and the clumps of dry earth that had managed to form gave up and dissolved back into murky mud. In the passangers seat next to her, Wybie fiddled with the dashboard and wheel until he located the windshield wipers button and flicked it on. When the road turned from mud to concrete, and the wipers had done their job, Wybie spoke "So, are you ready?"

"Of course I am" Coraline replied confidently before her stomach plummeted. "Or maybe I'm not."

"Don't worry" Wybie said, grinning at her as best he could while watching the road.

Coraline's familiar look of annoyance graced the car "How can I not, if I screw this up, not only will I be laughed out of the archeological community before I've even really joined it, but I'll have wasted four _years_ of my life."

"But you're not _going_ to mess this up, because you've done your research, double, triple, and quadruple checked your facts, and you've got me, your walking talking science guy to back you up."

Coraline glanced at her companion and smiled, "Thanks Wybie" she glance back in the rear view mirror and could just make out the highest of the palace's spires "I just hope my parent's faith isn't misplaced."

Wybie chanced a glancing friendly punch to her shoulder "Come one Jonesy, you gotta have more faith in yourself."

Coraline shot him a side glance and smiled wryly "I guess you're right, _why-were-you-born_"

Wybie groaned, and Coraline laughed "See, that's the Jonesy I know" Wybie said after her laughter died out.

Coraline smiled at him again, and with that, her kinda-sorta-butnotreally boyfriend drove the clunky old VW beetle down the main road.

-C-

It would've taken far too much money for her and Wybie to take a plane all the way to England, but thankfully, their prospective investor and potential future partner found their proposal so interesting that they took the liberty to travel to Pennsylvania. Currently, Wybie was out running various, incredibly important errands like cleaning out the car, checking them into a hotel, and making sure Coraline didn't have anything edible nearby, because if she had so much as a chip she was going to _hurl_.

Coraline herself was waiting in a plush study seemingly made entirely of mahogany. An antique grandfather clock was standing proudly in a corner, looking as prestigious and grand as the day it had been made and Coraline wanted to _choke it_. The insistent ticking was setting her on edge, and she was bordering between utter anxiety overload, and going into a Avocidial* rage.

She was saved from making that choice when the door on the other side of the room opened. The woman who stepped in was fairly tall, around Coraline's height, and most likely her age. Her hair was auburn brown, and pulled into a ponytail, and her eyes were a light brown. It was not the color of the eyes that caught Coraline's attention though, but what was in them. They seemed light enough, the eyes of a cheerful person, and they were brimming with curiosity, but they held something else, a steel. They were the eye's of someone who had seen and done things they never thought they would, and came out on the other side.

"You must be Coraline" the woman said. Her accent was light, but it still held a British lilt.

"Actually its Cor-" Coraline had to stop her instinctive reaction "Oh, yes, you got it right."

The woman smiled "I try." Settling on a velvet chair, the woman regarded Coraline with those eye's of hers. "Well Coraline, much as I like pleasantries, let's dispense with them."

Coraline blinked, "Okay."

"Ever since I finished my first expedition, and revealed some of what I had discovered, I've been called a charlatan, a fool, and completely mad, it's no surprise then, that others have tried to take advantage of me." The woman leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, regarding Coraline over her steepled fingers. "What I want to know, Miss Jones, is why I should believe you, or your theory on the Doors of Janus."

"I, well, I could tell you my actual reasons, but I very much doubt you'd believe me, in fact, I'm sure that you would either laugh me out of this room, or call an asylum."

The woman grinned, "Try me."

And for a reason that Coraline would never quite be able to place, she did, for the second time in her life, she told the woman about the Beldam, and the ghost eyes, and the cat, and a world of white and web. By the time she was finished, the woman had leaned back, and her lips had quirked. "There are plenty of people who would call you mad if you told them that" the woman pointed out.

"They've said the same about you" Coraline answered with a grin. For whatever reason, she felt lighter, happier, more relaxed, she didn't doubt for a moment that this woman would believe her.

"That's true" the woman said, and her quirk turned into a full blown smile, and she laughed "which is probably why I believe you."

"So does this mean . . ."

"I would be _very_ interested in financing _and_ joining you on your expedition."

Coraline smiled, and a laugh erupted from her, and soon enough the woman joined her, and they laughed together. Coraline's pocket vibrated, and she pulled out her phone.

_R U Don Yet?_

For someone with an impressive vocabulary, Wybie's spelling on a phone left a lot to be desired. Coraline tapped out a quick reply, and turned back to her new partner.

"Friend?" She asked.

"Wybie, he's my tech expert."

"Oh, good thing, we need one those."

Coraline laughed again, and then held out her hand "Well, should we make it official?"

The woman smiled and shook her hand. "You know what else we'll need?"

"Hmm?"

"Something to eat, I'm starving." Coraline's stomach groaned at the mere mention of food.

"Good idea, Wybie should be just outside anyway, we can all go together."

As the two walked out the door, Coraline turned to her partner "You know, I don't think we formally introduced ourselves."

The woman nodded, "you're right."

Stepping out into yet another rain storm, Coraline pulled the hood of her coat over her head as she caught sight of a lanky, dark skinned man holding an umbrella.

Turning to her companion she said "I'm Coraline, Coraline Jones."

The woman grinned.

"Lara Croft."

-C-

AN: Well there you have it, so what did you think? Personally after I thought about it, I loved this idea; also to clarify, this Lara is the one from the rebooted franchise, which is already getting _two_ sequels, its amazing, if you haven't played it (and you're old enough to buy it) go get it now. I'm not going to lie, I'm not absolutely happy with this, and I feel I need work on getting Lara into character, but I do believe that it's fairly solid. If you have any (constructive) criticism, feel free to tell me. Until then, read and review.

*Avocidial: my own word, basically, Avo is Latin for grandfather, and that's all I really had to work with, bizarrely enough, there isn't a word for killing your grandfather, even though there's one for just about every other member of your family.


End file.
